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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Guest Blogger Julie Cohen

I feel so popular...we get all the cool kids on our blog. Y'all welcome Julie Cohen and make her feel at home.

Ready to rock?

First, thank you ladies for having me here in the playground, and especially thank you to Problem Child who invited me here to talk about my long-running obsession.

I started my writing career in high school, in chemistry class with my best friend. We wrote a book together about us and the Beatles, circa 1965. She loved George Harrison and I loved Paul McCartney, and I’d write the bits about her and George, and she’d write the bits about Paul and me. We gave Ringo and John to two of our other friends, who weren’t writers but who liked to read. The plot was, I must admit, mostly a vehicle for lots and lots of sex scenes.

The best bit was writing a scene about Kathy and then passing it to her. Second best, but only very narrowly, was reading a scene that Kathy had written about me. The complete joy of giving someone a story from my own head, is still one of the most amazing things about writing for me.

After the Beatles, we wrote a story about us and the Monkees (I had Peter Tork, she had Davy Jones). Then--I’m sorry, but I must admit it, though it betrays our age--us and the New Kids on the Block (I had Joey McIntyre, she had Donnie Wahlberg).

Our writing interests wavered into different channels as we grew up; she wrote about vampires, I wrote about celebrity chefs. The musician-love never died, though: I moved to England and married a guitar-playing Englishman who works for rock stars.

Which made it useful when I had to do research for my latest release, HONEY TRAP.

A couple books before, in SPIRIT WILLING, FLESH WEAK, I’d introduced a character called Max DeMilo. Max was a former rock star, a guy who used to be famous in the 1980s, who was planning a comeback tour. I loved him. He was in his early fifties, he wore lots of silver jewellery and leather, he had long hair and tattoos. Max was so laid-back that he was nearly horizontal. He told long, pointless stories about his crazy life on the road and for the past few years he’d been retired on a farm in Yorkshire, raising llamas. (He always wore his leather trousers and silver jewellery in the fields, whilst mucking out, etc.) I don’t know if it was the llamas or the years on the road, but Max had a sort of skewed wisdom and true kindness that helped heal everyone he was with.

I knew I had to write about him again, and show his comeback tour, which I knew was going to be fraught with peril. For one thing, This Is Spinal Tap is like one of my favourite movies. But the problem was, Max wasn’t hero material: he was too old for my target audience, and I’d also paired him off with someone in the previous book.

So I made up another rock star: Dominick Steele. Max had come out of the other end of fame and fortune with his soul intact; Dominick is his dark shadow. He’s tall, dark, sexy, brooding and immensely talented, the former front man of Dirtysweet, one of the most successful bands in recent years. He’s also an alcoholic who has systematically destroyed everything he’s ever had or cared about.

Oh yeah. This is a hero I can sink my teeth into.

In HONEY TRAP, Max needs a bass player for his tour. He calls Dominick, who has utterly dropped out of the musical world, and pretty much the real world, too, since his wife divorced him and his band broke up. Dom, on the verge of bankruptcy with nothing else to lose, agrees, because this is his last chance. But he instantly regrets his decision when he sees who else is on the tour: Sophie Tennant, the former private detective who broke up his marriage.

I’m not sure why I’m attracted to the darker side of the rock star world: the temptations, the self-abuse, the tortured geniuses. I wouldn’t put up with my husband indulging in any of that crap. But in fantasy, how I love it. It’s Jim Morrison, it’s Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry, it’s Mick Jagger, it’s Jeff Buckley and David Bowie, it’s all those darkly sexy men and their leather trousers.

It is, perhaps, not quite so much Joey McIntyre. But we all grow up, right?

Who’s your favourite bad-boy rock star? And why do you find him so sexy?

Julie's going to give away a copy of HONEY TRAP to one of today's commentors. (Although I think it should be me since I can't believe I just put one of the New Kids on my blog...)

71 comments:

As the Playfriends will acknowledge, I am SO out of my element with rock stars -- good or bad. While they were in the audience of Bon Jovi's concert, I was home emailing with my sister about the possibility of getting tickets to see Barry Manilow if we decide to go to Vegas for our 2008 girl's trip. I can see you all shaking your heads and mouthing the word "pathetic" to each other. ::shrug::

I sort of missed the 80's. I was raising kids and the decade is a blur of school supplies and Sesame Street, Little League and lunch boxes.

Well Dominick is MINE!! MINE I TELL YOU!! Sorry got carried away there... ;-)Well I go for the shorter balder more country type of bloke. And once Mr Kenny Chesney comes to realise we are meant to be together the world will be a better place.That said I was convinced I was going to marry John Taylor from Duran Duran when I was younger.

Welcome, Julie. Love me some rock stars. Telling my age, my first rock crush was Lek from Herman's Hermits - tall men with glasses sent me than and continue to send me now.

As far as bad boys go, I'm a Rod Stewart girl. His songs were naughty, naughty, naughty and his voice was so gravelly and sexy. I kind of forgot all about him until he put out the first songbook CD, and I swooned all over again. Naughty had turned to stable and longing for permanence, but the sexy voice was still there.

Then there's Conway Twitty. He also sang songs about naughty things and when I hear that that low thing he did with his voice, my toes curl right up.

Welcome, Julie! Great topic. I've always had a thing for musicians. I, too, had NKOTB posters on my wall, straight from the pages of Tiger Beat. My friend has just paid $300 to see them in Atlanta with VIP passes to go backstage. I told her she needs to get Jonathan's autograph for me.

I'm not sure I really like the bad boys, though. Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, Aerosmith... maybe they've just all mellowed with age, but they never struck me as bad. Maybe just a little randy. :)

Biddy - I'm glad you've fallen for Dominic because you can't possibly marry John Taylor. I'm marrying John Taylor. I just need to tell him that.

Kate! Glad you could pop in. (I 'met' Kate forever ago on the eHarlequin 20-something boards I mentioned in my post about Nalini, oddly enough.) I'm so jealous, Bryan Adams is my favorite and he almost never tours in the US. When he does, he steers clear of the south. Sigh... I've tried to explain to DB that when Bryan shows up on the doorstep and announces its time for me to have his love child, I will comply. He responded by deleting his concert at Slane Castle off the DVR.

I'm a Bon Jovi girl! Although, I also loved Van Halen, Guns N Roses and Metallica growing up. Hmm, I'm not quite sure what it says about me that I have now switched to a country girl. Give me Keith Urban, Tim McGraw or James Otto (I love that man's voice!) and I'm a happy camper.

Instigator - who will admit to seeing NKOTB in concert when I was mumble, mumble, mumble.

Hello Julie,I loved what you wrote about! You asked about many of bad boy rock stars...hmmm, well, where do I start? Here are three (I could name more)Yes, Gene Simmons from KISS..ultimately bad. But older. Still who doesn't like a guy in make-up from time to time (*snicker*)Shaun Morgan of Seether, those piercings are cool and so is the attitude.Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails...gotta love his wildness.

Who would think I'd have a taste for the wild side? LOL

What is the most bizarre experience you've had dealing with the rock world? (I'm also terribly curious):)

Hi, Julie! Well, this one stumps me because I'm not into rock bad boys much these days. Jon Bon Jovi, of course, but he's not all that bad really.

When I was a teen in the 80s, I had posters of Billy Squier, among others. I find David Cook to be quite adorable, but I don't think he's bad.

You'd never guess I was the girl who went to all kinds of concerts back then: BOC, Ozzy, Nazareth, Rick Springfield, Billy Squier, Loverboy, etc. I'm sure there are more, but I've blocked them out. *g*

Liza, I do understand the Bon Jovi, but I just do not get Justin Timberlake. He looks to me like any vaguely thuggish teenager hanging around the mall. Maybe that is the appeal. Can someone explain this?

I grew up during the Big Band era. You kids really missed the good music (if you call "Rock" music.) Now as far as poster boys go...I'll take Tony Bennett, even if he did leave his heart in San Francisco!

Instigator, yay! I totally love Eddie Van Halen. I want to bring him home and feed him. I also love Slash from G 'n' R though that may have more to do with his chest than any desire to feed him. Metallica, I'm afraid, are not attractive at all (alas) but I do like their music.

Funny that you've switched to country. Maybe you're feeling it's more authentic these days than pop and rock? My musical tastes have changed over the years too, though I've always had a talent for choosing to love songs that my husband thinks are tacky as hell. I listen to 80s radio on the Mac and wind him up. (He's a bit of a music snob.)

Maryf, I like the way you think. Piercings and Trent Reznor. Good, good, good. Mmmm.

What's the most bizarre experience I've had dealing with the rock world? Well my husband has lots of them because he works in the music biz and so he meets lots of people. For example he used to work for the Pretenders and Chrissie Hynde is a very strict vegetarian. He wasn't allowed to wear a belt and he had to sneak around if he wanted to eat a hamburger.

I do soundtracks for all my books, and I think the coolest thing has been when my husband has met one of the artists who's on my soundtrack. He tells them that they helped inspire his wife's novel. He did this the other day when he met Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy so I am waiting for that particular book to come out so I can send him a copy.

This is very exciting for me.

Another bizarre experience was when I was backstage at Glastonbury Festival and my husband had to physically restrain me from touching Damon Albarn's butt. (Damon Albarn= Blur and Gorillaz)

I would also have to say James Marsters. Unforunitely I am only going by looks because you can't get his cds anymore. I don't even remember the name of his band. He does look alot like billy idol who I also thought was cute when I was little.

Ah, JT is the thing! He's got the moves and the voice to soothe the beastie.

Billie Idol!! Righteous!!

Bryan Adams. Stringy hair but the he's got THE voice!

I had pictures of Micheal Jackson and Donnie Osmond on my walls in the 70's. I absolutely love guys that can sing and bust a move! :-)

Keith Urban is HOT! Em&em, 50 Cent, bad boys but oh! what poets! But I digress, we are talking about rock bands, aren't we? LOL.

Scott Stapp! What a BAD, BAD boy but the leather pants, the tall, dark and handsome... the voice, the passion... Yeah, baby. Loved Stuart Townsend's take on bad boy rocker vampire in Queen Of The Damned!

Julie, have you written in other genres? And what do you think about the dark allure of vampires and rock?

Hi Julie! I love rock music. Always have and always will. It drives my 17 yr old daughter nuts. She thinks I should stick to the classics or switch to country. Not happening. I like the old songs but love the new stuff. Kevin Miller. That's my secret (well not anymore) crush. He was the former drummer for Fuel but is now with Tantric. Lord can that hunk of a man play some drums!And I've always had a thing for Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Curly hair and all. I don't know how bad they are but who cares! I like connecting to music when thinking about a story. But sometimes it's a good thing just to listen to their sexy voices and NOT see their pictures. I love Hinder and Default but their voice doesn't actually fit my minds picture of what they should look like. (LOL)Oh and I love Bryan Adams too! Saw him in concert back in his day. It was great. He sure knew how to wear a plain white t-shirt and jeans!

Ohmygosh, I'm laughing so hard picturing Foghorn singing his own version of Barry Manilow.

Now that I've thought about it, I was a huge James Taylor fan in college. Still am for that matter. And every darn time he's been in concert anywhere close, we've had a conflict. One of these days I'll get to hear him sing "Carolina in My Mind" live.

Wow! What a turn-out we've had here. We may have to hire a traffic cop to keep things moving smoothly. :-)

You guys are too fast for me! I'm trying to comment in between looking after my baby boy but obviously you are all too hyped up about rock stars for me to keep up. :-D So I'm going to reply to several at once to try to be quicker.

Hi Lynn! I used to love Billy Squier too! I still love to listen to his music while I'm writing--"My Kind of Lover" and "Stroke Me" (of course). You are so cool with all those concerts you went to. Now Ozzy...he's a bad boy for sure.

Hey Birdzilla (love the name and pic)! I don't know some of the singers you're talking about, but I think Gretchen Wilson is beautiful. LOL at the bird Barry Manilow! I will be humming that for the rest of the day...

Anonymous, good to find another Barry fan. Toby Keith...not so much for me, but I see the appeal of the hat.

Hi Kathy! You are so cool. You've got me Googling Scott Stapp and though he's not quite my type (I like 'em skinnier) I can definitely see the appeal.

Julie, have you written in other genres? And what do you think about the dark allure of vampires and rock?

Thank you for asking, Kathy! I write sexy romantic comedies for Headline's Little Black Dress imprint, but I've also written contemporary category romance for M&B Modern Heat, which have been published in the USA as Harlequin Presents.

And, as you can see from my alter-ego posting on Blogger, I'm half of B. H. Dark, who writes erotic science fiction romantic comedy for Samhain.

I'm not a big paranormal reader, but I can recommend my friend Kathy Love's vampires, especially her Impaler books about a vampire rock band in New Orleans. I Want You To Want Me is out now. I love her heroes, they are really hot and also undead.

I'm totally glomming Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series right now. I've just started the last book.

Thanks for your wonderful post today. I think that your sense of humor is what keeps me going on days like this. It is uplifting and a joy. My favorite star is not a bad boy nor a real rock star but to me he is everything that is remarkable and unique. Whenever I see or hear Leonard Cohen I am in rapture. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame so I think that he rates highly especially with me and many other out there who value his lyrics and unique voice.

Welcome, Julie. Lovely to have you hear. Your humorous post has me loving it. My favorite and best ever rock star who always was the ultimate is Ted Nugent. Still is appealing to me. Thanks for this great time today.

Sherry, you keep on doing your own music thing, don't listen to your daughter!! I am going to have to google Kevin Miller. I like drummers.

PM, James Taylor is a great musician, but not beautiful, really, do you think? I saw him years ago and loved it.

Maybe we should get Jon Bon Jovi as our traffic cop. ;-)

I'd have been miffed if my husband had restrained me from touching the rear of someone like Damon Albarn. ;)Maryf, afterwards we had words. ;-)

I would love to market my sound tracks with my books. But of course there's that pesky copyright thing. Plus I fear some people would think I was even weirder than I am. I do have some soundtracks listed on my website, but I haven't done that for a few books now. That could be fun to do.

Hi Julie,Liam Gallagher of Oasis used to be myfavorite bad boy rocker. When they first came out, I thought he was very cute and their songs were catchy. Then I realized he was such a big jerk and he became less attractive real quick. Liam is known for spitting on stage and other annoying antics. I just heard on the news that he and his brother got attacked on stage. I have to look for the video on the internet.

My sister told me that Sherrilyn Kenyon posted soundtracks for her Dark Hunters books, some of the songs being written and performed by her brother. When we went to the Acheron signing in Nashville, we got to hear them play. Hard rock, definitely. Even though I wasn't familiar with the songs, I really enjoyed it!

Hi Jane! My husband just showed me the video of Liam Gallagher being attacked on stage. I can't condone that obviously but I agree that his personality is somewhat less than attractive. I like a bad boy with some honour...if that's not a contradiction in terms...

Angel, that's really cool that Sherrilyn Kenyon's brother is involved in his own way with her world. I like that story because it sounds like a good relationship.

I'd never heard of Daughtry before. Again, not my type, but I can see the attraction.

Annie, Neil Young is my husband's favourite musician EVER. He just thinks Neil is a god. And you know, I was never a big fan until our son was born, and my husband used to put on Harvest and just hold our son and sing it to him. Every song, from beginning to end.

Kathy, I know, Michael Hutchence and that song are just perfect vampires!

How do you like crossing genres?

I loved writing the erotic sci-fi (with my friend Kathy Love as B. H. Dark), because I could let my imagination run wild, and also use language I wasn't really allowed to do in category romance! For me, every book is about pushing my own limits in skill and content, but writing something completely out there was lots of fun. The switch from category to single title has been really fun too. A little scary, but a big exploration.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Not really, if I can help it. Of course the books always overlap; I usually get edits for Book A when I'm about a third of the way finished with Book B. But I'm a pantser rather than a plotter and I find my process requires me to eat, sleep and breathe the book I'm writing. I couldn't do two at a time. I admire people who can.

And yes you're right, the B-52s would be awesome vampires! They would be very funny.

Her name was henrietta, she was a showchickWith yellow feathers on her breast and a comb cut down to thereShe would strut and do the cha-chaAnd while she tried to be a state fair prize chick, Foghorn always tended barAcross a crowded barnyard, they pecked from 8 till 4They were young and they had each otherWho could ask for more?

At the farma, farmyardaThe hottest spot north of Mud Tavern At the farma, farmyardaplummage and cackles were always the fashionAt the farma....they fell in love

I couldn't help but check in again -- it's Birdzilla and the lyrics! Instigator, how do you keep a straight face?! ROFL!!!!

Oh, Angel, I love Daughtry. I could listen to his album over and over. Indeed, I have. While writing! I love that angsty edge to his songs. Really works for writing a Presents. *g* I'd have been on the edge of my seat if I'd been with you at that concert! I know all the words, baybee. ;)

It's hard but somehow I manage :-) I will say that life is rarely dull at my house. And I wouldn't change a moment of it - except for maybe the surprise animals. (Zilla is my DH for anyone who didn't know).